Archinect - News

Lloyd Wright's landmark Wayfarers Chapel closes indefinitely due to landslide threat

2024-02-21T12:08:00-05:00

Lloyd Wright’s Wayfarers Chapel closed its doors to the public abruptly last week due to the threat of landslides that have afflicted the Los Angeles area and its site in Rancho Palos Verdes.

In a statement posted to the Chapel’s website, the ministry responsible for its stewardship cited “accelerated land movement” in the area as the reason for its immediate temporary closure.

Rancho Palos Verdes, which is a 12.3-square-mile incorporated city in coastal Los Angeles County, has been particularly impacted by winter storms since early February and is seeking to have a state of emergency declared for recent damage that’s compounded already dangerous landslide conditions.

A local official told the LA Times, “In some areas, [the land] is moving up to 10 feet a year. That’s significant movement, and we’re seeing the damage that’s being sustained throughout the community. We have approximately 400 homes that are threatened by this landslide.”

Completed by the eldest son of Frank Lloyd Wrig...

U.S. Air Force Academy releases update on iconic Cadet Chapel refurbishment

2023-08-09T16:21:00-04:00

Earlier this year, the ongoing refurbishment of SOM’s Walter Netsch-designed United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel in Colorado reached a significant milestone when contractors for the $220 million project removed the final aluminum fin from its iconic exterior, culminating the renovation’s asbestos removal stage and clearing the way for the final reconstruction to begin.

The painstaking process, which began in 2019 and hit an impasse after two years due to “unforeseen” issues that added nearly $80 million to the project’s original budget of $158 million, is now on track for completion in 2027 and will result in the installation of an aluminum water barrier system the Air Force scrapped during construction in favor of cheaper caulking seals.

“Scraping the sealants off the building damaged the aluminum finish and as time went on and new resealant projects came in, the sealants were no longer adhering to the aluminum very well,” Academy architect Duane Boyle said in an Air Forc...

Air Force Academy chapel restoration hits a snag as construction issues abound

2021-11-30T12:33:00-05:00

The more than $150 million renovation of the Cadet Chapel at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs is going to take months — or perhaps more than a year, longer than originally expected; contractors are contending with more asbestos than they expected, as well as other unforeseen challenges.

The project began in 2019 and is now expected to be pushed back a yet-to-be-determined amount of time away from its original 2023 completion date owing to an unexpected amount of asbestos in addition to other “unforeseen” challenges. The long-overdue restoration is necessary to fix faulty caulking underneath its signature aluminum panels that was hastily installed in the original 1963 design from SOM’s Walter Netsch Jr., leading to water damage.

The entire structure is now encased in a temporary protective metal building. The caulking has been replaced several times over the years at considerable cost to the Academy.

“We had 32 miles of caulking on this building, which is kind of ridiculous when you start thinking about that,” AFA architect Duane Boyle told Colorado Public Radio. “I think it would compete as one of the most complicated and intensive historic preservation projects of all time.”

Rothko Chapel closes for its big overhaul

2019-02-28T13:22:00-05:00

The Rothko Chapel in Houston, founded in 1971 by the art patrons John and Dominique de Menil as an ecumenical site for both reflection and activism, will be closing on Monday for the rest of the year for the first phase of a $30 million restoration and campus expansion by Architecture Research Office.

New York-based firm Architecture Research Office (ARO) was selected in 2016 to be in charge of the restoration work.

"During the closure, work inside the Chapel will include modifications to the entryway and vestibule, enhanced audio, security and fire systems, replacement of the existing skylight and updates to the overall lighting design to allow for heightened illumination and an unimpeded interaction with the artwork," reads the announcement about the temporary closure, beginning Monday, March 4, on the Chapel's website.

Image via Wikipedia

"These upgrades will ensure more access and engagement with Mark Rothko’s extraordinary paintings and will improve the visitor experience as a whole. These preservation efforts will bring the experience of the Chapel closer to the founders’ and artist’s original intentions."

The building is scheduled to reopen in winter 2019.

Álvaro Siza Vieira completes off-grid, minimalist chapel in Portugal

2018-07-12T14:15:00-04:00

Described as "a pure architectural project" by the architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, the Hillside Chapel he recently completed has no electricity, heating or running water. Instead, the modest chapel relies on natural ventilation, and clever use of materials such as insulated bricks and limestone to create an off-grid, conceptually interesting materialization of faith.

The chapel is surrounded by natural landscape, making it a peaceful, spirit-restoring retreat. All images courtesy of João Morgado.

Aerial view emphasizing the geometry of the chapel and its surrounding natural landscape. All images courtesy of João Morgado.

One of Portugal’s most celebrated architects, the Pritzker Prize winner was approached to design the Capela do Monte by a Swiss-American couple. The couple, who have been living in Portugal's Algarve region since the mid-1980s, are building out a spiritual retreat in the country's southernmost region for which the non-denominational space will serve as a focal point.

S...

Foster + Partners unveils chapel design for Vatican City's 2018 Venice Biennale pavilion

2018-03-28T14:34:00-04:00

Foster + Partners unveiled their design concept for one of the 10 temporary chapels of the first ever Vatican City pavilion at the 2018 Venice Biennale.

Collaborating with Tecno, Foster + Partners will build their chapel in a forest area at one end of the Venetian island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Located between two mature trees with a view of a lagoon, the chapel comprises of three symbolic crosses and a timber deck, which will be “draped” over with a tent-like, wooden latticework structure.

Image via Foster + Partners.

“It was like a small oasis in the big garden, perfect for contemplation. Our aim is to create a small sanctuary space diffused with dappled shade and removed from the normality of passers-by, focussed instead on the water and sky beyond,” Norman Foster describes.

Vatican Chapels to be placed in the woods at Venice Biennale 2018

2018-03-23T15:44:00-04:00

After announcing participation in this year's Venice Architecture Biennale, the Vatican has recently released more details on their Holy See pavilion. The project is officially titled Vatican Chapels, featuring ten chapels commissioned from architects in ten different countries. Each structure will be realized in a forest on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, located opposite of St. Mark's Square. This wooded location serves as a space for silence and meditation as visitors journey through each structure.

The Vatican stated these ten chapels are meant to reference the ten commandments. Apart from this connection and each structure containing a pulpit and altar, the chapels will be completely unique and up to the participant's interpretation of the project. However, as a guide the Church has encouraged each architect to respond to themes explored in the preliminary Asplund Pavilion.

Asplund Pavilion rendering by MAP Studio. Image: ALPI.

Asplund Pavilion, designed by MAP Studio, wil...

Regarding fundamental matters of faith and geography

2016-05-05T00:40:00-04:00

And so I seek out the airport chapel, interfaith space, prayer room, or meditation center, and see how each country’s particular tics and prejudices play out as spiritual architecture in technopolitical space. I rarely see other people in my visits to these places.

James Bridle wrote a short piece concerning one of his perennial obsessions: airport chapels, and the strange interactions of iPhones and prayer mats, and technological and spiritual spaces.

New photos of E. Fay Jones' Thorncrown Chapel unveiled to mark 35th anniversary

2015-05-19T15:29:00-04:00

Concealed within the forest landscape of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas, the acclaimed Thorncrown Chapel will celebrate its 35th anniversary this summer. Designed by E. Fay Jones, who was commissioned by retired schoolteacher Jim Reed, the 48 ft. tall chapel boasts 425 windows and over 6,000 sq. ft of glass, and it became widely recognized for its organic "Ozark Gothic" style when it first opened on July 10, 1980.

To mark the Thorncrown Chapel's anniversary, architect-turned-photographer Randall Connaughton from Atlanta began an ongoing photography series of the wood-and-glass structure last year in what he described is "an effort to add new depth to the visual record of Thorncrown Chapel and bring its transcendent experience to a wide audience."

Thorncrown is the backdrop to countless wedding photos, but according to the Chapel organization, Connaughton's snapshots are the "first professionally produced photos of their kind" since 1980 -- when those photos that first contributed to ...

Brooks + Scarpa with KZF Design Studio release proposal for the new Interfaith Chapel at the University of North Florida

2013-01-18T18:58:00-05:00

Brooks + Scarpa and KZF Design Studio have released their proposal for the new Interfaith Chapel at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, FL

The proposed 7000 square foot Interfaith Chapel is designed to be a special place where students and others can slow down their lives, re-focus on their spiritual needs and reflect. At the same time, the Chapel will support a variety of diverse religious services, student ceremonies, weddings, other intimate events, lectures, meditative practices and musical performances.

The informal shape of the building footprint symbolizes an allegorical figure, such as Justice, Faith, Hope, Charity, Prudence and Fortitude. The buildings form draws upon references of flowing formal gowns used in weddings and other ceremonial rituals. The top of the building culminates with a large skylight that is shaded by a wooden lattice spire whose form is derived from the symbol of infinity. This combination of flowing natural and cosmic element...